Lamp socket



Jam 27 1931- G. b. LAWSON l 1,790,239

LAMP socxET Filed April 4, 1927 Patented Jan'. 27, 1931 UNITED STATI-:s

PATENT oFFlcE I' GEORGE D. LAWSON, OIF FOBT DODGE, IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO T.

LIZENBY AND ONE-FOURTH TO J. P. GRUNDON, BOTH F FORT DODGE, IOWA LAMP socxET Application med April 4, 1927. Serial No. 180,900.

My invention relates to that class of lamp sockets which is designed for use in connection with incandescent lamps `and electric plugs having screw threadbases, the threaded s portion being a metallic ring forming one i of the Contact terminals. f

The principal object of this invention is to provide an improved electric socket capable of quickly receiving and holding an incandescent lamp or electric plug.

More specifically, the object of this invention is to provide an electric socket havino a cup member therein with resilient sides or frlctionally engaging and holding an electric lamp. or electric plug.y A further object is to provide an electric socket for quickly receiving and holding an ordinary electric lamp or plug having screw-A threaded bases originally designed to be screwed into the electric sockets now in common usage.

A still further object is to providegan electric socket that is durable in use and'eco- -nomcal in manufacture by dispensing with the necessity of making a costly screw ring in the socket.

A still further object is to provide an electric socket for quickly receiving and release ing an electric lamp or plug that may be readily and easily installed without the employing of an electrician.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art. f

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the ob'ects con-l Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the cup mem-- n .ber in the socket having resilient si es for frictionally engaging, holding, andl releasingthe incandescent lamp or plug.

ig. 4 is a perspective view of an adaptor embracing my invention for frictionally holding a lamp or plug and designed to be 55 screwed into the ordinary lamp socket.

Fig. 5 is a side sectional view of the adaptor embracing my invention with an electric plug of my own construction mounted there- 1n.

Fig. v6 is a forward end view of my plug and more fully illustrates its construction.

In sockets now on] the market constructed for receiving incandescent lamps and plugs,

the terminal with which the threaded ring e5 on the lamp or plug base makes contact, is made ofa corresponding screw-threaded ring. This construction not only is expensive to manufacture but much time and patience is lost as every time an electric lamp or plug is 7o placed in or removed from the socket, the same must be screwed in or out. The procedure of removing a lamp that has just been in use prior to its contemplated removal is very diiiicult, due to the necessity of prolonged handling of the very hot lamp while 11nscrewing the same. I have overcome these objections by producing a socket having'resilient sides or tongues for frictionally retaining a plu or lamp. I have use the numeral 10 to designate the shell of an ordinary switch socket. The numeral 11 designates a handle member Jfor manually operating the switch inside the f shell 10. The numerals 12 and 13 designate 85 electrical lead wires leading into the socket, one` of which makes electrical contact with the spring contact member 14 in the shell.` Inside the shell 10 and adjacent the inner wall of its receiving end portion is the sleeve 15 of non-conductive material. Inside this sleeve and secured to the socket by the screws 16 is the cupmember 17 of my invention which is designed to frictionally hold an electric lamp or plug. This cup member has an opening 18 in its bottom to allow the s ring contact member 14 to protrude into t ecu member and make an electrical con- "tact wlth the lamp or plug to be placed. in

the socket; This cup member is insulated 10tfrom the contact member 14 by the member 19 of non-conductive material. The other lead wire entering the shell is designed to make electrical contact with the cup member 17. -This cup member may be made of any suitable conductive material but sheet brass is specifically recommended. In the tubular portion of the cup member is a series of pairs of longitudinal slots 20. Each pair of slots create a tongue 21 fastened at both ends to the cup member. On each one of these tongues 2l-I have made an .inwardly extending bead 22. These beads may extend approximately transversely of theslots but I have found by practice that if they are not at exactly right angles tothe slots, it will facilitate the placement and removal ofthe lamp or plug in the cup member. I have illustrated this construction very clearly in Fig. 2. From the foregoing description it will readily be appreciated by those skilled inthe art that to place an electric lamp 0rplug in the socket it is merely necessary to force thev same into the cup member. By this operation the resilient tongues are forced out- Wardly thereby allowing the threaded pory same by the washer 28 of non-conductive ,inserted or withdrawn.

tion onthe base ofthe lamp or plug topass the various beads 22. These beads. will engage the threads on the lamp or plug and will yieldingly preventv the withdrawalof the yieldingly engage the threads, the plug or lamp ma be instantly and directly with-4 drawn. t is-foundY however, that the inserting or withdrawing of the lamp or plug will be facilitated if a slight rotary motion isl given the lamp or plug when the same is As the resilient tongues are forced outwardly when the plug or lamp is inserted or withdrawn, it is ad-v visable to have considerable play between these tongue members and the shell 10. This may also be accomplished by having the sleeve member 1 5 of not only non-conductive material but also of resilient material. If this is not possible, I recommend the forming of a depression 23 in the shell member and adjacent each bead 22. f

In order to use my invention on light fixtures havin permanent sockets I have provided an a aptor embodying my invention and designated bythe numeral 24. This ada tor comprises the base member 25 having the threaded member 26 of conductive material designed to be screwed into the lamp socket. This threaded member is held on the base member by the bolt- 27 and is electrically insulated from the material. One end of this bolt serves as a contact member for en agin the contact point in the xed soc et. ecured to the other.l end of the bolt and making electrical contact therewith is the spring contact member 29. The socket portion of this adaptor comprises the shell 30 having the sleeve- 31 therein' and which is of non-conductive material and corresponds to the sleeve 15-l in Fig. 1. Inside the socket portion is the tubular member- 32 which serves the same purpose as the cup member 17. This tube member likewise has the slots which I have designated by the numeral 20', the tongues 21 and the beads 22. The threaded member 26 has electrical contact with the'meinber 32 by the lead arm 33. 'When this adaptor is screwed into any light socket, electric lamps or plugs may be quickly inserted in and withdrawn from the same. As the plug or lamp is only yieldingly held in the socket the spring member 29 may be made very light and of insignificant strength.

I have also provided an improved plug to be used with my socket. This plug has the base or core portion 34. The numeral 35 designates a projection integrally formed in the cup portion of the forward end of this plug. Over this projection -is the contact point 36 and extendin down to the bottom of the cup portion of t e plug where it is selead wire to be attached to this plug may be held in contact with this contact point by having its end placed between the head of the -screw 37 and the contact point and from there lamp or plug. However, as these beads only passing out of the hole 38 in the core 34. The numeral 39 designates the ordinary threaded portion on the plug made of suitable metal. This threaded portion is secured to the plug by having a tongue 40 cut in its upper portion and bent into the notch 41 in the rim of the cup member where it is permanently secured bythe terminal screw 42. This threaded portion makes electrical contact with the other4 lead wire to be attached to the plug by having the end of the lead wire between the head of the screw 42 and the tongue portion. This lead wire passes through the hole 43 in. the core 34. By this construction it is merely necessary to run the lead wires through the holes 38 and 43 and'secure them to the plug by the screws 37 and By this construction it is unnecessary to dissemble the plug in attaching the lead Wires. This also provides a convenient and eicient onepiece plug especially desirable in connection with my improvedV socket, with which it is not necessary to use a detachable plug since the' plug can be so readily removed and replaced relative to the socket.

-Somechanges may be made in the construction and arrangement of my improved lamp sockets without departing from the realspirit and purpose of myv invention and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical l equivalents which may be reasonably includa. tubular member, and spring tongues formed on said tubular member for making contact with and yieldingly holding an'electricv lamp,

each of said spring tongues being connected at both ends to said tubular mem r.

2. An electric lamp socket comprising a.

shell, a. tubular member carried in said shell, said. tubular member being formed `with a.

series of parallel slots to form a. plurality of resilient tongues, each of said tongues being connected at both ends to the body of the tubular member, each of said tongues-being formed with a transversebead obliquely arranged; the series of successive beads forming substantially aspiral line circumferentially of the tubular member.

GEORGE D. LAWSON. 

